Primarily taught with the TCM Exploration curriculum and the Benchmark Education readers Native Americans at the Time of the Explorers, The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, and Explorers of the Americas.
TCM Document Based Assessments, pages 64-74 and various acitvities embedded in lessons and activity cards. These include writing, projects, and short answer formats.
We recommend to teach lessons in the order as follows:
Assuming the average teacher will have 90 minutes a week to teach social studies, we recommend teaching 2 lessons per week which focuses on a chronological approach to exploration. This will allow completion in approximately 7 weeks, leaving time for the end of the year activities. Some lessons can be taught in 30-45 minutes and same may last as long as 90 minutes. Much of this can be left to teacher discretion and time constraints.
Identifying primary source documents and their significance (as covered in Pre-Colombian ancient civilization unit and Early Americans units) should be reviewed again at the beginning of of the Exploration unit.
The Benchmark reader Native Americans at the Time of the Explorers makes a great bridge between 3rd and 4th quarter. The reader The Voyages of Christopher Columbus should be used with the TCM Columbus lesson. The reader Explorers of the Americas gives good background as to why and how European nations began exploring. This book can used throughout the unit at teacher discretion.
TCM Primary Sources: The Brass Astrolabe (Pages 15-16)
TCM Primary Sources: Viking Ships (Pages 17-18)
TCM Primary Sources: Marco Polo and the Silk Road (Pages 19-20)
TCM Primary Sources: Ptolemy's Map (Pages 31-34)
TCM Primary Sources: Capitulations of Sante Fe (Pages 43-46)
TCM Primary Sources: Zheng He Tablet (Pages 39-42)
TCM Primary Sources: The Queen's Pirate (Pages 27-28)
TCM Primary Sources: New and Accurate Map of the World 1651 (Pages 59-62)
TCM Primary Sources: James Cook (Pages 29-30)
Standard Connections:
Enduring Understandings: The students will understand that:
Exploration by nations and individuals is done for a variety of reasons such as spreading religion, expanding scientific knowledge, accumulating power, and building wealth.
Contact between cultures impacts the societies involved through the exchange of culture and goods.
Essential Questions:
What does it mean to be an explorer?
Why was there a flurry of exploration from the late 1400’s to the mid-1500’s ?
How did the beliefs and values of different cultures shape their interactions?
What happens when there is contact between different cultures?
Skills: The student will be able to:
*Read and interpret charts, maps, and graphs that present information about exploration, encounters, and the conflict/cooperation that occurred when East encountered the West.
TCM Primary Sources Lessons:
New and Accurate Map of the World (page 59): Students will compare a more than 350-year old world map with a modern world map and discuss how maps are constructed from exploration and scientific data.
Ptolemy's Map (page 31): Students will analyze an early sixteenth century world map based on Claudius Ptolemy’s works, compare it to a modern world map, and generate questions for an interview with Ptolemy.
Benchmark Education Leveled Readers:
Explorers of America:
Timeline (Page 2-3)
Amerigo Vespucci Map (Page 4)
Conquistadors Map (Page 6)
Cortes Map (Page 9)
Pizarro's Map (Page 12)
Hudson's Third Voyage (Page 22)
French Population Graph (Page 27)
Champlain's Map (Page 28)
Native Americans at the Time of the Explorers:
Indian Nation Map (Page 3)
Pacific Northwest Indian Map (Page 6)
Southwest Indian Map (Page 12)
Great Plains Indian Map (Page 16)
Eastern Woodland Indian Map (Page 20)
Iroquois Five Nation Map (Page 22)
Early Native American Flow Chart (Page 29)
Christopher Columbus:
Columbus's First Voyage Map (Page 10)
Columbus's Second Voyage (Page 17)
Columbus's Third and Fourth Voyages Map (Page 22)
*Create and use graphic organizers such as Venn diagrams and timelines
TCM Primary Sources Lessons:
Zheng He Tablet (page 39): Students will compare the ships used by Zheng He and Christopher Columbus by measuring the lengths, creating comparison charts, and drawing visual representations of the ships.
Benchmark Education Leveled Readers:
Christopher Columbus (Pages 30-31): Timeline
Explorers of the Americas (Pages 2-3): Timeline
*Conduct historical research, to develop the following skills:
recognize multiple points of view
distinguish fact from opinion
conduct library and electronic research
analyze and cite sources
TCM Primary Sources Lessons:
Capitulations of Santa Fe (page 43): Students will analyze the Capitulations of Santa Fe to understand the contract Christopher Columbus made with the king and queen of Spain.
Letter from Ponce de Leon (page 47): Students will compose appropriate responses to a historic letter that shows its unique features and the motives behind why it was written.
Magellan's Ship (page 55): Students will read a journal entry from a sailor on Magellan’s ship and then reconstruct their own journal entries from other perspectives.
*Identify values by recognizing the core beliefs held by a person or group.
TCM Primary Sources Lessons:
Cartier Woodcutting (page 51): Students will design colony recruiting posters for Jacques Cartier’s third journey into Canada.
Knowledge: The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:
Key vocabulary terms and concepts, such as encounter, explorer, culture, society, navigation, caravan, and exchange.
Motivations for European exploration.
Science and technology that enabled ocean-going exploration and domination.
The exchange of goods, foods, and materials that resulted from exploration.
The impact of contact on cultures, beliefs, and values.
QUARTER 4
Exploration/Encounters:
Recommended Assessments Include:
We recommend to teach lessons in the order as follows:
Standard Connections:
Enduring Understandings:
The students will understand that:
Essential Questions:
Skills:
The student will be able to:
*Read and interpret charts, maps, and graphs that present information about exploration, encounters, and the conflict/cooperation that occurred when East encountered the West.
*Create and use graphic organizers such as Venn diagrams and timelines
*Conduct historical research, to develop the following skills:
*Identify values by recognizing the core beliefs held by a person or group.
Knowledge:
The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of: